No Heroes

Good for you, Jeri! You are exactly right about Bunning, and that is why the real conservatives (most tea baggers) are going to ensure the Republicans' defeat unless they reclaim their gumption. Your article is clear, correct, and gutzy.-- Kathryn Huddleston, Ph.D. (life-long conservative activist and Fred supporter -- worked as volunteer in his senatorial and presidential campaigns)

I was agreeing with this article until I got to the second to last paragraph. Then it revealed why both parties are severely broken and a new party HAS to spring up to save this nation. Sen. Scott Brown's $80 Billion proposal is wrong. To say you are being fiscally responsible by giving payroll tax breaks and paying for it out of a program (the stimulus) that was NEVER paid for is not responsible. When will we ever pay down this enormous national debt?

People and politicians need to start holding the payroll tax as "sacred and untouchable." The payroll tax is in theory suppose to cover our Medicare and Social Security programs and as itself is too low for to cover the benefits that were promised (that's why they say it is going broke). If we want to keep these programs and keep them solvent then we need legislation that 1) puts the money in a trust fund which can't be used for anything else (no budget tricks) and 2) the tax is tied to an actuarial computation. So if some silly politician wants to increase the benefits in these programs, the rate collected has to automatically go up for all wage earners to pay for the added coverage. That is the only way to keep these entitlements in check. If we want these benefits we have to decide if it is worth another percentage of our pay.-- Marilynne Martin

Gimme a break. The guy is quitting. The next influential politician you find willing to reduce spending (not the "rate" of spending) in an entitlement program linked to the drastic deficits and overspending we have experienced for 2 generations, will be your first. Read Andy McCarthy's article today on NRO. Hate to say it -- and I am an optimist, as I believe Andy to be -- but we are not going to see any true fiscal responsibility until it is too late or darn close. Political self-interest rules.

We've known for years that NY, Calif, etc. were/are bankrupt. And yet people sit around trying to find short-term fixes and budget gimmicks to push the problems down the road so some other sucker who wins election can deal with it.

Bunning is no different, and no hero. And the scary part is that he is right. It's not even close. And yet 99 Senators show zero guts to address it. Being right doesn't matter. Cutting entitlement spending is untouchable, like an open family secret. Sshh, don't mention that all the old family money is gone. Let her keep wearing the old dusty dress she wore to the ball 50 years ago and acting like she's a debutante.

The REALLY scary part is the very-Left knows this. The progressive lefties are like suicide bombers. Many (far too many) are willing to die (lose elections) for their cause (Obamacare), with full knowledge that they will be hailed as "martyrs" for their cause and will have glowing articles and books written about them for a generation.

I am optimistic that the short-term is bringing people into politics, interested and willing to shout. Long-term, I believe there may not be a single living politician willing to touch the actual fiscal problems we face. That stinks, because the people are ready.

Bunning gets his 15 minutes, but where has he been all these years? Oh, yeah! Running for re-election. -- Timothy

What was missing with regard to Jim Bunning's refusal to adopt a unanimous vote on more funding was a strong and truthful response from the Republican leadership to the shameless cries from one Democrat after another that the Republicans don't care about those who will be unemployed as a result of this non-vote. What we conservatives are waiting for is the Republicans to stand up and say that the Democrats will whine and cry that they care but it's a lie. They only want to enslave people in poverty and extract their votes in return for welfare payments. They really don't care about people, especially those who work for a living. It is about time that they be shown for the frauds they are.

I would like to see more of the underlying figures supporting the claim that wind farms can have a two-year payout. One of the principal architects of what he termed as one of the most productive installations in the country admitted to me that the payout for his project was twenty years and that only possible with Federal assistance.-- Richard

Not to put too fine a point on it, but the solution to windmill freezing is laughably simple: We build nuclear reactors and use the electricity they generate to warm our northerly windmills. We could even use the reactors to run the windmills on calm days. Now this might seem convoluted, but the real point is that, in the end, when Eskimoes and Minnesotans switch on their lights and TV sets, the electricity involved will have come from the windmills, not the nuclear stations, and that should make us feel pretty good. Even better, if it all works out, we could be looking at windfarms at the North Pole, maybe even Antarctica. There might be grid problems, but we give that job to the Chinese, or the Indians, and it will be solved and implemented in no time. -- D. ReichAuburn, New York

This is a very disturbing article. Let no one doubt we have vipers within our government both under Democrats and Republicans. It does certainly seem we have more under Democrats. George Bush was and is a good Christian who had good intentions in attempting to rescue Iraq from tyranny, however our country would probably have been better off if he had not done so. Americans have become incapable of sustaining support for long wars even "good wars". Rather than try to make people who don't like us love us we should just protect ourselves from those who hate and envy us while continuing to welcome those who will accept our British-American style democracy. We would not only have been far better off, but probably would have been spared the lunacies of the Obamas, the Pelosi's, and the Reids and their ilk.-- Jack Wheatley Royal Oak, Michigan

How about a Constitutional amendment that allows one to serve only one term in any Federal office (one office and one is out forever). There are plenty of smart capable honest people in this country and there is no need for the career political class that we have now. The political class career politician is the new tyrant.-- Walter

This information is only partly right. My employer-paid health benefits only include a partial payment of the premiums. The part I have to pay is fully taxed .. as is the part I have to pay for the copay amount. And Obama's sob story about the woman who had to wear her sister's dentures was not much of an example. My health benefits don't include dental care at all. I pay full price for my dental care with fully taxed dollars.

And, incidentally, the congressmen and senators have exactly the same health insurance as federal employees and retirees. The only difference is that there is a doctor designated to attend them during the time they are in session.-- A Federal Retiree

Mr. Cline made a number of excellent points in Scott Brown's favor in analyzing his vote for the "Jobs Bill." One he missed, however, was how this vote fits within the larger legislative picture. $15 billion is a drop in a bucket compared to the monetary and moral costs of other progressive monstrosities, especially health care "reform." In a state which will demand independence from an elected Republican, Brown wisely decided to show his independence on a relatively painless measure, saving political capital for the more devastating bills coming down the pipeline. Kudos to Senator Brown.

This comment is in no way representative of the views of The Heritage Foundation.-- Stephen Roberts

Thank You for that great article, I was confused and a little angry at first but helped clear a lot of questions.-- Sue Shehan Topeka, Kansas

Lou Dobbs is and always has been an intellectually dishonest reporter and commentator. His only desires are to gather as much attention as possible and to boost his own popularity and influence. His current toe-dip into the prospect of high public office would be hilarious if it weren't so emblematic of our society's frightening tendency to attribute gravitas to the most unaccomplished and treacherous among us, the current occupant of our White House being the most alarming example.

Thankfully, it appears that Lou has chosen precisely the wrong moment to shed his super-conservative costume and launch himself as an immigration centrist. His timing always has been pretty weak. This time it's probably fatal.-- Gary Deeb Matthews, North Carolina

Given what Obama said last Thursday at the White House, with his white-clad robo-props surrounding and applauding him, inarguably he and the Democrats have formally declared war on our country.

So is it then time for Americans' dissent to go beyond words?

Is it time, as the Declaration of Independence says: "That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends [Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness], it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government"?

I don't think Obama and his thugs care. They appear to count on the public sitting idly, watching the Marxist takeover and destruction of America.

They must be stopped.-- C. Kenna Amos Jr.

"But what is adopted by reconciliation can and will be repealed by reconciliation, setting a precedent for future entitlement reforms using the same process."

This is a fine article and its last sentence is the scoop of the year -- all of us readers chewing our nails out here in the hinterlands have been looking for a 'save'. Please follow up with more explanation. If it is true, then the Cavalry 's coming... It is the very best platform any candidate could run on for 2010.

Thank you for your fine work. American Spectator has some of the very best work published in this world. -- Robin Almgren Tyringham, Massachusetts

You are quite right in defending the choice of the driver whether to wear a helmet or not. But the insurance companies should also put out a proviso, "no helmet, no insurance coverage for accidents." That way the person is free, and the insurance company is not required to be open to tort lawyers, or the foolishness of the driver.-- P.J. Sandstrom

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